Action against killing of ex-army major after investigation: HM

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said on Sunday that the government would take appropriate action against the killing of retired army officer after the investigation.

‘Incident or accident whatever we call is something has happened and an investigation is going on for that. After the end of investigation we will be able to tell it clearly...  action will be taken after investigation,’ Kamal told reporters at his residence.   

Retired major of Bangladesh Army Sinha Mohammad Rashed Khan was killed in police firing at a checkpoint on Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf Marine Drive at Shamlapur under Teknaf upazila in Cox’s Bazar Friday night.

Rashed, 36, took early retirement from the army a couple of years ago and had been staying at a resort in Cox’s Bazar for a month for making a documentary.

The home ministry in Dhaka said the ministry formed a three-member committee headed by Cox’s Bazar additional district magistrate Md Shajahan Ali to probe into the incident.

Two other members of the committee are additional superintendent of police in Cox’s Bazar and a representative of Bangladesh Army.  

Cox's Bazar police superintendent ABM Masud Hossain told New Age that an on-duty policeman at the checkpoint was acting in self-defence and opened fire as a man in a private car stopped for checking pulled out his gun after an altercation at about 10:30pm.

He said the policemen immediately took him to Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital where doctors on duty declared him dead.

A source in the hospital said that he was in army’s combat T-shirt and trousers when he was brought to the hospital.

Cox’s Bazar Sadar Hospital resident medical officer Shahin Mohammad Abdur Rahman said that the man was brought dead to the hospital Friday night and his body was handed over to police after post mortem examination at about 1:00pm on Saturday.

The police superintendent further said the police team at the checkpoint had information about a gang of robbers and they stopped the car on suspicion.

The police later came to know that the dead man was a retired army official, he said adding that two other travelling companions of the retired army officer were detained. He, however, did not give any details of the detainees.

He said that the police lodged two cases and also seized a pistol, 50 pieces of contraband Yaba tablets, hemp and two bottles of foreign liquor from the car.

New Age correspondent in Jashore reported that the retired major was son of a freedom fighter and a former deputy secretary of the Bangladesh government, Md Ershad Khan, and Rashed was a residing in Jashore cantonment area after retirement.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net